The Strat House team continues to grow, and we’ve been delighted to welcome Marta Czaja to the Strat House fold recently. We first met Marta when she was a Creative, and kept in touch along the way as she made the decision to shift into strategy and innovation. Now that she’s here, we thought we’d throw her in at the deep end by asking her to write an opinion piece! Here she is, making the case for the Digital Social Innovation research framework.

In The House

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• Unilever helping women farmers to grow pineapples and their incomes
• Adidas takes on Samsung’s controversial ‘Night Owls’ ad in women’s safety campaign
• Unilever Study Reveals Influence of Influencers in Sustainable Behavior Change
• Dove are standing up for #KidsOnlineSafety
• Gong cha named best food & drink franchise at the 2023 Global Franchise Awards
• Find out why LinkedIn And Dove Are In It Together To Help End Hair Discrimination

Putting technology in its place: the case for Digital Social Innovation

Having worked at Strat House for a couple of months now, I can see that an important part of the approach is ‘making complicated things as simple as possible’. We task ourselves with this for brand and communications, but I wondered whether the principle could be applied to another discipline that I am personally drawn to; innovation. 

Brands have to ensure they are constantly adapting to changing customer needs. Having an innovative mindset, and leveraging innovation processes, can be a means to deliver on that. (The past two years have forced a pace of change that is drastically different to ‘before’ – so now is a good time to build on that with ever more innovative approaches.) But how can we introduce this in ways that are simple, rather than adding complexity to the already weighty discipline of brand and comms?

This is exactly why I was so intrigued when I read about DSI; a transparent overview and research framework that offers a great, really simple, structure for investigating innovation opportunities. Moreover, it is built on two areas that many businesses might be familiar with; digital and social environment. The latter means that DSI is a very purpose-led approach to innovation, which I think would create an amazing foundation/continuation for businesses’ good practices (something customers increasingly demand). 

So what is it?

There are many articles on Digital Social Innovation (DSI), but I particularly like this explanation from Qureshi, Pan and Zheng (source here):

“Digital Social Innovation (DSI) involves the use of digital technologies in the development and implementation of innovative products, services, processes and business models that seek to improve the well-being and agency of socially disadvantaged groups – or to address social problems related to marginality, inequality and social exclusion.

Often, DSI is less about technological innovation and more about social innovation—a process of finding innovative, effective and sustainable solutions to pressing societal challenges, such as those listed in the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).”

Put simply, DSI is the space between digital technology, social & environmental impact as well as innovation:

What I like about it is that it is a framework that considers technology as a means to solve social problems, not as a solution on its own. So the technology can be anything that allows for best in class innovation: even a WhatsApp group. The key point is to keep customers and social problems at the heart of the new services and products that are being explored.

If you decide to give DSI a try, there are tips that you should consider. Keeping consumers in mind, you need to understand what social problems you want to, and can, solve. It, of course, needs to be a problem that your customer or a newly identified group has, but it should also look beyond your current offering and into the real-world problems. Based on that, you should be able to choose a problem where you have the right to play and where you have a position to make a positive difference.

Once you pick your fight, conceptualize a solution simply and understand how you can apply technology to make the idea real. One way (if you aren’t a technology company), is to partner with a tech specialist company and create the solution together. 

A great recent example of such innovation partnership is Zalando x Save Your Wardrobe. In a nutshell, Zalando found out that people want to be more conscious and take better care of their garments, but they lack education, resources and the time to book a repair. To solve the problem Zalando leveraged their Premium Logistics Services, partnered with a technology company Save Your Wardrobe, and created an innovative idea that decreases fashion waste. Care & Repair initiative connects customers with local sneaker cleaners, traditional cobblers and family-run tailors. 

So what now?

I think DSI is interesting because it works for both start-ups and established corporations. No matter the size of your company there will always be a problem that you can fight. With DSI you could end up developing an idea that will not only grow your business financially but also make a positive impact on the society.  

DSI essentially aims to keep transforming the world into a better place. When you ask your company a question ‘what are we doing next’, consider using DSI as your framework. It will lead you to solutions that can create even more value to your communities, and that can empower your customers. Innovate purposely so you can become a brand that exists for years to come, and rightfully so!